When hubby and I went to SF and Napa Valley I was really disappointed. We went in a year there was a horrible drought and everything was dead and brown and it was foggy. Too chilly to swim at the ocean and too hot inland. We drove way up north though and it was so much prettier. I loved the trees and wooded coastline but not at all what I envisioned. Next time I want to go to southern California.

Ana, I used to live in the Napa Valley; in Napa, as a matter of fact. It sounds like you picked a really bad year to go there.

Southern California would definitely be a different experience. You might want to consider going to Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border also; it's terrific. There's a lot of diversity in this state; that's for sure.